We were wandering the aisles of Target at the time on a girl’s weekend when I asked them the best way to start having conversations with my daughter about her body.  Three of them replied in near-unison – “You need to get the Body Book.”  They walked me over to the book section and showed me this cute little book by the American Girl company called “The Care and Keeping of You – The Body Book for Girls”.

As usual, they were right.  The Body Book was exactly the kind of resource I was looking for.  Catered to tween-age girls (I’d recommend it for ages 7 -13), this book is a perfect introduction to all things girl.  It offers simple health and hygiene tips such as how to care for your hair and how to beat bad breath as well as more delicate topics like how breasts change and what happens when you get your period.

I love that the illustrations are informative without being too graphic so it’s comfortable for girls to flip through the pages.  I liked the writing style as well – it’s upbeat and casual without being too cutesy.  It was the perfect balance for my inquisitive daughter.  My daughter and I read a few chapters each night together and I’d answer any questions she had.  Once we’d finished it, I gave the book to her and let her read it on her own.

It’s been 4 years since then and she still has it in her bookshelf.  In fact, I had to do an image search on Google to get a picture of the cover because she’s used it so much that the cover was too tattered to photograph.

Overall, I’ve been really happy with this book.  It gave my daughter a solid introduction to the world of womanhood in a comfortable, non-formal format.  Now that she’s 10 and right on the verge of entering this next phase of life, she seems confident that she knows the facts and knows what to expect.  Additionally, since our first chats about her body were so casual and non-threatening, she seems far more likely to come to me with questions in the future.  What more can you ask for as a Mom?  If you’ve got a daughter in this age range, you should take my big sisters’ advice and grab this book.  It’s made a world of difference for my girls.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

By the way, if you like this book you may want to check out the American Girl Smart Girl Series.  My daughters have several and I think they’re fabulous teaching tools.  Here are a few of the titles we own (I bought them all at Target)…

A Smart Girls Guide to Money

A Smart Girls Guide to Friendship Troubles

A Smart Girls Guide to Starting Middle School

First, I tried the WalMart brand, White Cloud.  They were significantly cheaper than the name brand diapers and it showed.  They were thin and loose and a total waste twelve bucks.  I ended up selling the rest of the pack at a garage sale for $1.  Next, I tried the Sams Club brand, Strollers.  Much to my surprise, they were awesome.  They were just as durable as the name-brand version and never leaked.  Plus, by opting for the generic diapers instead of the Huggies I usually buy, I save almost $300 per year.  I just wish it hadn’t taken me four kids to figure it out!  It’s painful to think how much money I could have saved.

So for today’s Talk to Me Tuesday post, I’m asking for your best (and worst) generic brand finds.  What products have you found that are just as good as the name-brand alternative?  On the flip side, what generic brands have you tried that didn’t stack up to your expectations?  Or, what name-brand products do you use that are worth the extra cash?  We’re all trying to budget a little more carefully these days so do your fellow MeckMom readers (and me) a favor by taking a minute to share your best money-saving finds in the comments area below.  As always, to those of you who comment, thanks in advance for passing it on.

The bank is a simple three-ring binder kept in my kitchen cupboard. Inside the binder I have one zippered pencil pouch for each of my kids. On the front I keep a statement sheet. The sheet has an simple table for each kid to jot down their deposits and withdrawals.Behind the kid’s pouches, I have another pouch that holds a calculator and a tithing envelope for each of the kids.

Whenever they get their allowance, earn money from a money job, or get money gifted to them. We pull out the bank binder. I help them write out the deposit amounts on the statement sheet and then make a 10% withdrawal for tithing.I don’t force them to deposit their money, but we do have a rule that if someone finds money in the couch cushions…or anywhere else, it goes into the family jar we keep on top of the fridge.

When they decide they want to spend their money we simply pull out the pouch and take it with us to the store. On fast Sundays, we pull out the tithing envelopes and bring them to church with us.It’s a simple system, but it has made a huge difference for me. My kids are excited to save and the fights are a thing of the past. As a side bonus, the whole tithing concept is much clearer for them. Just thought I’d pass it on. You can find the free file downloads for the cover and binder spine insert below.